No Rest for the Wicked
by cleansedbubbles
Summary: When Prince Hans murders a Master Assassin, his two apprentices will go to great lengths to avenge their fallen mentor. Willing to do anything for revenge, for both themselves and Elsa and Anna, they will recruit new allies and utilize their skills to perform an insurmountable task, the murder of the entire Southern Isles' royal family.
1. Chapter 1

As a small boat glides across the fjord, warm waves crashing against its sides, an older assassin in his late 40's plays with the grey stubble on his face. He looks over to his two apprentices, both of them racing up and down the ship's masts, "Hey Ares, Bryn, quit messing around and come down here?"

They both climb down to him and Ares, the older of the two, replies, "Yes Alex?"

As the three look onto the city of Arendelle, "Do you two remember when I found you here?"

Ares replied "Yeah, I remember. I was 17 and Bryn 14, we stole your coin purse for food, and you chased us down to find two homeless orphans, starving and helpless, and took us back to Italy with you."

Bryn cutting Ares off, "And now after 6 years of training we return home as Assassins, no longer below those who wouldn't pay us any attention before. Now we're above them, staring down at them from their own rooftops."

Ares gives him a shove, "Way to stay humble jackass, we fight for the people, we're not above them, and besides, you'll never beat me up the rooftops." Turning to his mentor, "Anyways it's great to be back home after all this time, even if it's only for a few weeks. I wonder what the princesses look like nowadays?"

Alex grabs them both by the shoulders, "I've heard they're quite beautiful. You boys have come a long way since I first found you, you used to fight to survive, but now you fight for the brotherhood, you fight for what's right, and I'm proud of you two."

A few hours later the three men sit in the church, everyone patiently waiting for the doors to finally open. Princess Elsa nervously walks in, and the Coronation finally begins, with a choir singing a beautiful song up above. The whole congregation rises from their seats, as if to greet their new queen as she stands before them.

Bryn, standing next to his older brother, "So that's the queen?"

Ares with his eyes fixated on the queen mumbles out, "Wow... She's beautiful..."

"Calm down now, you're starting to drool." As the queen stands in front of the rest of the church, Bryn spots the princess standing next to her, "Now her, the princess, she's a beauty."

"Shut up Bryn."

"At least I'm not drooling..." Bryn is interrupted by a slap to the back of the head by their mentor, "Both of you keep quiet and show some respect, we're in a holy place."

As the coronation comes to a close, and the nobility commemorate the Queen's crowning with a loud, "Queen Elsa! Of Arendelle!" the trio make their way to the ballroom. Alex turns to his apprentices, "I have to step out for a bit, I've got business matters to attend too. I trust that you two can stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"

Bryn with a slight laugh, "Trouble? When do we ever get into trouble?"

Alex just shoots him a disapproving look, "You're the one I'm most worried about..."

"I wasn't the one who spilled the chocolate fondue all over the newlywed..."

"Hey that was 3 years ago!" Alex turns to the older apprentice, "Ares just take care of your brother..."

Ares with a slight smirk on his face, "He's an idiot... So no promises, but I'll try."

As Alex begrudgingly leaves the ballroom, the two brothers can finally begin to enjoy the party. After a while they eventually find themselves in a crowd of people, staring at the newly crowned queen and her younger sister.

"Hey Ares?"

"What do you want?"

"I bet you won't go talk to the queen, I mean your peasant ass has no chance with her, but you've been staring at her all night."

"And like you haven't been doing the same with the princess? Oh wait, look at that, she's with a prince, so I guess you could say I have more of a chance than you do."

They start to bicker as they see the Queen speaking with the younger princess, who stands next to a tall, red-headed prince.

"Shut up Ares, you know you want to." As Bryn pushes his older brother towards the queen, an argument breaks out between her and the princess.

Ares turns to his brother, "Stop, listen... What's this about?"

The queen begins to step towards the door, as if she fears her sister will reveal something about her to the nobles. Queen Elsa screams "I said enough!" as she unleashes a powerful array of ice spikes, all across the floor in a u-shaped arc, but even her sister seemed surprised. A spike would have ripped through Bryn if it weren't for his older brother grabbing him and pulling him out of the way.

Ares and Bryn stare in disbelief, along with everyone else in the room. The younger one manages to mumble out an exasperated "What the fuck...?"

As the queen flees the room and runs off, Ares grabs Bryn and with his other hand pulls his hood over his head, "We need to find Alex."

Bryn stares the iconic eagle in the eyes, and begins to pull his own hood over his head, "Alright... Let's go."

As they make their way outside they stop in their tracks, in awe of the sight before them. Bryn puts his hand out to catch a snowflake in his hand, "It's July... How is this possible?" A hand grabs his shoulder from behind and he turns around to see Alex, "The fjord's frozen over. We all might be here awhile."


	2. Chapter 2

Three days later, Alex and his eldest apprentice walk through the town square, villagers rushing past them, looking for anything to help keep them warm. Ares, trying to keep his mind off the cold, asks, "Master, any news of the missing princess, has she returned yet?"

"No...her horse showed up without her yesterday, it looked like something had scared it off, not a good sign. Though earlier this morning the prince and his men brought back the queen, along with those two Hessian mercenaries, all three of them in chains.

Ares, finally concerned, asks, "Is she alright?!"

"She's fine, but I heard they're keeping her in the dungeons for treason."

"What!? She's the queen, they're the ones committing treason!"

"Prince Hans said she was a danger to the kingdom, and unfortunately anything he says goes, at least for now. Anyway, if the princess doesn't return soon I might send you and Bryn out to look for her."

Alex barely has time to finish his sentence as a young couple race by on a reindeer, the man holding the youthful, yet white-haired woman in his arms.

Ares nearly yells at the man, but sees his mentor hold up a hand. "Quiet, learn to observe the situation, don't interfere... Not yet at least."

The two look on as the rider gallops across the castle bridge, dismounts his steed, and walks up to the gate, all the while never letting go of the woman in his arms. Two watchmen hastily open the doors, as some servants rush out to take the girl off his hands. The male servant, the one who had introduced the princesses a few days prior, thanks the man, and walks back inside.

The gate shuts as quickly as it had been opened, and the young man eventually turns to walk back across the bridge, his head hanging low, seeming to regret ever setting the girl down.

"That woman must've been Princess Anna, brought in all quick and quiet like that, she looked weak, as if she had hypothermia or something."

"You're right. Okay, I'll go inside the castle to make sure she is safe, I'll try to find the queen as well, although don't count on it if she truly is being kept in the dungeons."

Pulling his hood over his eyes, he tosses his coin purse to Ares. "Here, buy some food for you and your brother, then tell Bryn about what's happened."

Ares watches as his mentor silently infiltrates the castle courtyard, climbing up and over the wall in the confusion of the princesses' arrival.

Alex walks into a nearby general goods store, glad to finally escape the cold. He walks across the small shop and sets a single loaf of bread on the counter.

The store clerk simply says, "Fifteen."

"Fifteen? For bread?"

"Fif-teen."

"Whatever, here."

He reluctantly pays the clerk and walks out of the store, tearing off a piece of bread for himself. He turns to see a young boy standing in the cold, eyeing his bread from across the square, Ares walks across to him and takes a knee, "Hey lad, you hungry?" The young boy doesn't say a word, but gives a slight nod. Ares tears the bread in two and hands the larger half to the boy, "There you go buddy". The young boy starts to mumble, "The bigger piece... uh, I mean, thank you mister!"

Ares watches as the boy happily runs off with bread-stuffed cheeks, and a new-found skip in his step.

* * *

Bryn walks along the docks, staring out at the immobile ships in the icy fjord. A gust of wind blows right through Bryn's cloak, exposing the symbol of the brotherhood on the underside of the thick fabric. "Fuck it's cold...", he says as he passes through a small alleyway, looking to find a warm inn where he can take a seat and rest.

_Ah!_

Bryn looks to the sound of a food cart crashing into the ice, exposing the frigid waters below. He sees a woman dangling on the side of the wharf, and gets to her just before she falls into the freezing cold water. She thanks him as he helps her up, but just as quickly points in the direction of the culprit. "He, he took my coin, and destroyed my stand!"

Bryn slips his hood over his head and tells the woman, "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"Hey! Get back here asshole!" Bryn runs through the square after the man, but soon realizes he'll lose the mugger if he doesn't get to higher ground, out of the snow. The assassin puts his skills to the test, and begins to scale a two-story building, being careful not to slip on frozen footholds. Bryn finally reaches the top, luckily some of the townspeople had been adaptive enough to shovel the snow off of their homes, and onto the ground below, providing an advantage for the assassin.

The mugger runs through snow-filled streets, fearing the sound of metal boots chasing after him, even though the hooded figure who had rescued his victim was nowhere to be found... The criminal runs through a small market, pushing people out of his way as shadows leap through the air on the ground in front of him. He heads into a dark alley and turns right only to find a snowed-in building, where he had originally planned to escape through if worst came to worst. And worse his situation became, as the hooded figure landed in front of him, trapping him in the alleyway.

Bryn stands up, now towering above the small man, and walks towards him, his hidden blade drawn, reflecting white in the snow. He raises his hand as if he plans to ram it through the thief's skull, at the last moment retracting his blade and delivering a punch to the thief's gaunt face, breaking his nose.

Bryn pulls down his hood and grabs the thief's neck, forcing the thief to look at him while putting the blade to his throat. "Remember my face, because if I ever hear about you causing trouble in this city again, it'll be the last thing you ever see." Bryn rips the stolen coin purse out of the thief's trembling hands, and throws him against the wall, knocking him out.

As he's walking back to the wharf, where he had told the woman to stay, he opens the coin purse... "Holy shit, there's over two hundred coin in here! I could just as easily pocket it, or maybe…" As he turns the corner he sees the woman sitting there, a crowd of people having gathered around the guards, who were trying to lift the food cart out of the water. He decides against it, and walks up to her and simply says, "Here you go ma'am."

She wraps her arms around him, tears falling, "Thank you so much, you're a good man!"

His own eyes start to water as he hands her the pouch, _Glad someone sees some good in me..._

"Don't mention it… but I have to go." He heads off to the castle courtyard, where he's supposed to meet his brother.

Ares shows up in the castle courtyard to find Bryn waiting for him, "Hey. How was your day?"

Bryn thinks to himself, _Tell him, he'd be proud of you..._ "Oh nothing special, just been trying to keep warm all day."

Ares tosses Bryn the half loaf of bread, "Here, eat up."

Bryn catches it in his hands, the loaf still warm. "I'm more cold than hungry, but thanks."

He notices half of it is missing, and curiously asks, "Where's your half?"

Ares takes a few seconds to come up with a good excuse. "Uh, I ate it on the way here."

Bryn begins to laugh, "Horseshit, knowing you, you probably gave it away to some beggar." He tears what's left of the bread in half and tosses it back at his older brother, "Here, take it, I'm not that hungry anyway."

A grin forms on Ares' face, "Thanks… By the way, Alex went to go check on the princess up in the castle, I'll fill you in while he's gone."

Bryn's face lights up at his brother's words, "Princess Anna is back?"

"Yes, but something's happened, now come on, let's get out of the cold and find Alex, I'll tell you everything on the way."


	3. Chapter 3

Alex makes his way through the dark halls, keeping to the shadows of the overcast sky. Careful not to look out of place, he slips off his hood and eases up his step. Turning the corner, he is curious as to why all of the dignitaries and servants seem to be filing out of the royal study. Alex pulls one of the servants aside, and asks them the whereabouts of Princess Anna.

"The princess was returned safe sir. We're giving the prince some privacy with her now that she has returned." The servant marches off without another word.

The foreigners and servants walk away from the study, down the halls to the dining room and the servant's quarters, respectively. Alex, now left alone in the hall, begins to walk towards the dungeons. "At least the princess is safe, now let's see about the queen."

Alex nearly turns the next corner when he hears the door lock, stopping dead in his tracks, he knows something is wrong. He creeps back towards the study, no light shining under the door like it had been when he had left. He presses his ear up against the wood, making sure to not make a sound, and hears Prince Hans' voice on the other side, in a tone unlike his usual calm, respectful nature.

"But then she doomed herself, and you were dumb enough to go after her..."

_What the hell is he talking about?_ Alex presses his ear closer to the door, "All that's left now is to kill Elsa…" Alex stumbles back from the door, the prince's words confirming his suspicions. The princess was dying, and Hans had taken the opportunity to seize the throne from her sister. *He's going to leave her here to die!*

Alex gasps due to the revelation of Hans' scheme, but also due to the sound of a wobbling vase. He watches as the glorified dust collector falls off the table. He reacts quickly enough to catch it, the vase mere inches from the ground. _Damn, I've still got it._ The smug look on the man's face quickly washes away when he hears Hans approaching the door. Still hopeful for the Queen's life, he decides to walk down the hall, in the direction of his well-armed apprentices.

As Hans exits the room, gloves back on, he looks down the hall to see Alex hurriedly turning the corner, his signature hidden blade reflecting an irritating glare in the prince's eyes. "Could he have been eavesdropping?" he mumbles to himself. Hans then turns to see the vase still slightly shaking on the table. Hans examines the vase to see a fresh hand print in the dust.

Hans' face turns a dark shade of red, obviously not wanting to have to deal with the experienced fighter. "Executing the queen as my first royal act would've been nice, but an Assassin will have to do..."

Alex sprints down the long hallway, making sure not to alert any guards of his presence. He soon comes to a spiral staircase, where he finds the boys circling up. The man, somewhat relieved, hisses down to them, "Come up here! Quickly!"

The brothers pick up the pace, skipping a stair with each step. "What's wrong now?"

"I don't know, but I think we're about to find out."

As the two reach the top of the steps, Alex immediately begins walking back down,"Boys come with me, there's something very wrong here."

Bryn, concerned now, asks, "What's going on?"

"Hans is trying to overthrow the kingdom, he locked the princess up in a study and is on his way to execute Queen Elsa, we have to get to her before he gets the chance. The dungeons have got to be near the bottom of the castle, so going anywhere upwards is the last thing we should do." He reaches the bottom of the staircase to find magnificent suits of armor lining the walls.

Bryn cuts him off, and begins to make his way back up the steps, "You two can go for the queen, I'll go for Princess Anna, where is she?"

"No Bryn, she's…"

Before Alex can tell him of the princesses' presumed fate, his knees buckle, a crossbow bolt driven deep into his right shoulder.

"Alex!" Bryn catches the wounded man, and looks up to see his brother racing up the steps, to defend them from the guards circling down, swords drawn.

As Ares draws his sword in his right hand, and holds a set of throwing knives in his left, he scans the upper floors, no crossbowmen to be seen. "I don't see the shooter!" A guard lifts his sword to take a swing at Ares, hoping to keep the advantage of the upper ground. He blocks the first swing, only to have his blade knocked out of his hands by a kick to the chest. Disarmed, Ares jumps over the railing to the bottom, and picks up his sword again. He takes a defensive stance, and hands one of his knives over to his brother.

Bryn takes the bolt, cuts it down with the blade, and examines the wound as best he can without hurting his mentor any further. "Fuck, it's bad Ares!"

"Bryn... get up."

Bryn looks up to see the suits of armor climbing off of their pedestals, their spears outstretched towards the trio. The brothers look up to see Prince Hans walking down the steps, sword drawn, yet not completely hostile towards them.

"We can take this fuck, just say the word and I'll cut him in two." Ares winces at his brother's arrogant yet bold words, "No... There's too many, we need options."

"We can't just leave Alex here to fend for himself, fighting is the only option we have!"

Ares scans the area, and notices the red and white warpaint behind the suits of armor, and the cross on the prince's neck, "They're Templars."

Before Bryn can reply Hans finally cuts in, "You're outnumbered, let's not be stupid here, just surrender and we'll let you live. You'll see your master again, behind a cell maybe, but alive."

Bryn's voice fills with anger at the Templar's brash words, "Die you son of a whore!" He sprints towards Hans, but before he can get anywhere, his brother yanks him backwards by his cloak, "Don't be a fool Bryn, you're just going to get yourself killed!"

"What the fuck do we do then Ares?"

"...S-surrender?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Fucking look at Alex, Bryn… He needs help!"

Hans interrupts the two, "Yes, listen to your brother Bryn, you two can still live to see another day, but only if you surrender your weapons, and come quietly." The younger Assassin looks to his mentor, who was still pressing the wound as best he could with his ever weakening hands. "Alright… Alright."

Bryn finally retracts his blades and slides off his bracers, tossing them at the prince's feet. Ares does the same, and drops his sword to the ground, the rest of his knives gone, now attached to the wooden shields of some of the guards. The suits of armor rush forward, and begin to guide the now unarmed assassins towards the dungeons below, jabbing at them with the tips of their spears.

"I'm glad this didn't get more complicated than it had to be," Hans says as he lifts Alex by the hair and slits his throat, dropping his limp body to the blood-soaked floor.

Bryn tries to break free, screaming for his mentor, and Ares quietly stands there. Tears begin to fill both of their eyes as they're marched off towards the dungeons, their cries muffled by the sounds of the storm, raging on in the background of it all.

Hans cleans his knife on Alex's clothes and turns to his thugs, "I have to go tell the dignitaries Anna has died, now collect the body and throw those two in the dungeon. I'll see about them once I have taken care of the Queen."

As the two brothers are each thrown into a cell, the iron bars slamming violently behind them, Bryn immediately gets up and begins to bang on the barred window separating their cells. "Ares get the fuck up! We have to get out of here!"

Ares slowly gets up and takes a seat on his makeshift bed, "Calm down Bryn, save your energy. We don't know how long we're going to be in here."

"We can't just give up Ares! We have to tell the brotherhood!"

"There is no brotherhood to tell anymore!"

"There would be if you hadn't fucking surrendered! It's your fault Alex is dead!"

Ares quickly launches out of his bed, grabs his brother through the small window and slams his face against the bars, the only thing keeping them from each other. "I said stop! There is nothing we can do about it now! It's out of our hands..."

Tears begin to fill his eyes, and Bryn shakes his brother's hands off him, "How can we just sit around and wait to see if something happens? Alex would want us out there, taking the fight to the Templars! You're pathetic..."

They both sit back, tears in their eyes, without saying another word.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days pass, neither of them ever once saying a word to each other. Instead, they just sit on their beds, sleeping as much as they can to kill time.

Bryn finally breaks the silence, sitting up from his makeshift bed. He clears his throat, and his brother opens his eyes, somewhat startled at the sound of Bryn's voice.

"Uh… Hey," Bryn says, his voice raspy and hoarse.

His older brother takes a few seconds to reply, but barely manages an equally raspy, "Huh?"

"How long have we been in here? It feels like it's just been one long day."

"Three days..."

"Shit… Well at least the winter thawed shortly after we were thrown in here, we'd still be freezing otherwise."

Ares, wanting to get back to his own thoughts, "Mhm, I guess."

Bryn still replies, desperate to keep their conversation going, "The winter ending... Do you think.. Do you think it means the Queen's dead?"

"No."

"Why's that?"

"Hans said he would come down to finish us off after he'd dealt with the Queen, we're still alive, and to be honest, something tells me she's still alive."

"Hmm…" Bryn mumbles, happy to see his brother still optimistic, even after what he'd said.

An hour passes, the silence making it feel like days. Bryn tries to start a conversation again, hoping for better this time, "Can I ask you something?"

Ares, reluctant to reply, "Ugh, what do you want?"

Bryn chooses his words carefully, not wanting to push his brother further away, "Why are we orphans, what happened to our parents? You've never told me. I'm grown, I deserve the truth, please… Just talk to me?"

Ares takes a few seconds to gather his thoughts, before finally speaking up, "Our father... He was an ice harvester, died when you were three. He fell into the water and died of hypothermia. With no man to put food on the table, and unable to find work, Mom… she became a whore." Tears begin to fill Ares' eyes, as he remembers what Bryn had called Hans. "Hans is no whoreson..."

"I didn't know!"

"It's not your fault Bryn! It was mine..." Ares recollects his thoughts, regretting ever pulling Bryn back by his cloak, and continues.

"One day when you were four, and I seven, she brought home a client. I hated being home while she 'worked', so I left the house, and as I walked out the door, I got a good look at the man's face. I'll _never_ forget it, it's like his face is burned into my mind... Now, this fucker had the nerve to casually introduce himself to me. Like I didn't already know why he was there. Mom made me shake his hand, she always tried to make it seem normal, and he said his name was Cedric. The eldest brother of the Southern Isles' royal family, the heir to the throne."

"Isn't Prince Hans one of the…"

"Yes," Ares quickly answers, then continues on with his story.

"So I would go to the pier, and watch as Arendelle's old brotherhood glided across the rooftops. Watching them was like watching birds fly, they were free, and I wanted that freedom. I remember how badly I wanted to be one of them. After a while, I returned home, Mom would've been done by then." Now fully in tears, making it harder for him to speak. "She was dead, a knife shoved through her chest. I remember her body laying there, there was so much goddamned blood... I heard the closet door open behind me, and turned around to see you standing there, you were too young to understand what was going on, too young to remember. I grabbed you and we just ran, I didn't know where I was taking us, but I knew I would never go back to that house. For years I took care of you, until Alex found us, your hero, and now it's my fault he's dead."

"It's not your fault! I didn't mean it, and yeah, I'll always be grateful of Alex taking us in, but he wasn't my hero, you are," Bryn said, tears now filling his own eyes.

"I… I am?"

"Yeah man, you've taken care of me since I was four, you've always looked after me and put me first, I remember every little thing you've done for me."

Ares stands up, and grabs his brother's arm with his own, Bryn doing the same, the barred window between them no longer a barrier. "We're getting out of here, we're going to go to the Southern Isles, and we're going to find Prince Hans. He'll soon know what it's like to not have a family. We'll avenge Alex, I promise you that."

"You're damn right we will."


	5. Chapter 5

Another four days pass, the fourth day marking a whole week without any food. Luckily they'd had something to drink. A washbasin filled with dirty water in the corner of Ares' cell, which they were able to fit through the barred window.

As the two brothers sleep on their beds, they hear the cell block door open down the hall.

"Hear that?" Ares whispers.

"Yeah, what's going on?"

The boys listen as they hear footsteps move down the hallway, towards the large wooden table near their gear.

They watch as a tall man walks in front of their cells, and asks, "Well where the hell did you put it?"

"Me?! You were the one who had it last!" a shorter one replies as he walks behind him, looking for something on the tables lining the walls.

"I don't even play dice poker, why would I use your set? Probably left it in the bushes somewhere, you use it as a pillow when you're on duty."

"I ain't goin' another week without it, I know it's in here," the shorter one replies as he bends down on a knee to check under one of the tables.

The two guards pause as they watch another guard rush through the door, a mountain of meat, with a club at his hip. The man sees the two gawking at him, and asks, "Where the hell have you two been, you missed one hell of a tavern brawl!"

"Sorry sir, we've been looking for my dice-set, have you seen it?"

"Mitchell's had it, been using two sets to cheat all week, bastard beat me this mornin', that's what started the brawl. I threw the table when he won the last hand, six high straight, three times in a row!"

The taller guard asks, "What happen'd then?"

"Arnold grabs it off the ground and starts beatin' the shit out of Paulson with it," the large man replies. "Sorry mate, but I saw it break in two."

The short one finally stops looking, "Damnit, that was my grandad's box..."

Before the shorter one gets a chance to walk out the door, the tall guard says, "Might be able to find a box inside one of these here cells, prisoners play too right?"

The large one turns to the two guards, "I'll help you look mates, ale's on me when we get back."

The three guards start searching, the meaty one, clearly the leader, then walks over to Bryn's cell and peeks inside. He looks through to see Bryn's brown eyes staring back at him, and then proclaims.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Mates! Found somethin'!"

The short one runs to the wall, grabbing the keys to Bryn's cell, "Did ya find a set?!"

"Better."

Ares watches through the small window as the door to Bryn's cell flies open. Bryn looks up to see the two guards file into his room, the tall one following in shortly after with a piece of bread in his hand.

Bryn just stares at the bread and asks, "So uh, got anymore bread?" Bryn is interrupted by a club to the side of his head, and falls to the ground. The meatier guard yelling out, "Shut up!"

As the guard lifts his arm to hit Bryn again, Ares yells out, "Hey! Touch him again and I'll fucking kill you!"

The guards look over to Ares, and the short one exits to grab the right key off the wall. The remaining guards exit Bryn's cell as he is once again locked inside, left bleeding on the floor. The guard comes back with the key, opens Ares' cell, and they all head inside.

Ares starts to back up against the wall of his cell as the guards approach him.

_Fuck me_

The club-wielding guard lifts his arms to swing at Ares, but he dives under the guard's arm and kicks the guard in the back, making him go face first into the stone wall.

The other two guards quickly grab Ares and force him to his knees, the first guard finally gets up, still recovering from hitting his face on the wall. Wiping blood from his nose, "You little bastard." He begins to deliver repeated blows to his new prisoner's back, no way for Ares to defend himself with both of his arm's held above his head.

Bryn sits up and crawls to the barred window, and reaches out for his brother, "Let go of him! Get off him, please!"

The two guards let go of Ares and start making there way back to Bryn's cell, but the leader stops them, "No, this hurts him more than any beating."

The leader beats Ares until he crumples to the ground, covered in blood. The guard asks, "Why are you here?"

Ares lets out a little laugh, trying to ignore the pain, "Oh I heard the dungeon was nice this time of year, it's a little drafty at times, but it's great here, really enjoying it."

The guard begins to wail on Ares again, "Why are you here!?"

Bryn answers for his brother, who was beginning to drift into unconsciousness, "What the fuck do you mean 'Why are we here!' You threw us in here a week ago!"

"Who's we?"

"The guards, Prince Hans. He threw us in here... Right before the winter thawed."

"You're lying! You were sent by Hans to kill the queen! We know you're Assassins, we can tell by the insignia on your robes."

Ares interrupts, spitting blood as he says, "No, he's telling the truth."

The taller guard walks out to the chest where Bryn and Ares' gear was being kept. He pulls out Ares' hidden blade and starts to examine it as if it was just another piece of armor, looking for the insignia. Ares looks over to him, "You shouldn't play with that." The guard ignores him and continues to examine it. He accidentally draws the blade and it tears straight through the guard's ring finger. He screams in pain as he tries to stop the blood from pouring. Ares lets out a laugh, "Told you."

The leader of the guards raises his club up above his head, and yells, "You hurt one of my guards! Now you're gonna pay!"

Before the guard delivers another blow to Ares, a woman's voice yells out, "Stop!" Everyone in the room turns to look, stunned to see the queen walking towards the cells.

Under his breath, Bryn mumbles, "She's alive... Ares was right."

The queen with authority in her voice, "What's going on here! Why are you beating these men?"

The guard struggles for words, "Uh.. Uh... They're a danger to you and the princess."

Elsa sees the two bloody brothers lying on the ground and raises her voice, "They sure as hell don't look like a danger!"

Elsa walks into the cell and gets on her knees, helping Ares up off the ground. As she sits him against the wall she sees his wounds, "God... You're hurt bad..."

Ares with his eyes locked to the queen's, quick to reply, "...and you're beautiful..."

Elsa fails to stifle a small giggle and a blush, but answers, "...and you're covered in blood."

She turns to the guards, "Leave, now! These men are to be released."

The guard begins to step towards the door, the shortest one doing the same, "But your majesty..."

Elsa cuts the guard off, "That's an order."

As the guards finally exit the dungeon, the tallest one in tow, clutching his hand, another female voice is heard, "Elsa? What's going on?"

Elsa, still at Ares' side, turns to see her sister walking towards them. "Oh Anna it's nothing, you shouldn't see this."

Anna looks to see Elsa sitting next to Ares, and sees Bryn in his cell, covered in blood. She enters and helps him up onto the bed, "This one's hurt too Elsa..." she says as she turns to Bryn, "Are you okay?"

Bryn, amazed by the princess' beauty, "Uh... I… I… Um..."

Anna giggles and begins to wipe the blood from his face, "Awkward's a cute look for you."

Bryn with a little smile on his face "I uh... I'm fine... It's fine... Thank you." but his smile disappears as soon as he realizes his brother's still hurt, and asks, "Ares are you alright?!"

Elsa replies "Yeah he should be fine, he just needs to be cleaned up."

Elsa turns to the older brother, "I'm really sorry, you can imagine how hectic the past week has been. I just found out you two were down here."

"Yeah our week has been pretty far from normal as well." Ares rams his fist against the side of his head. _Idiot_ "Ugh, I'm really sorry your majesty, I haven't eaten in a week... It's okay."

Elsa in a softer tone, "Well how about we get you two cleaned up, back in your gear, and you and your brother join Anna and I for dinner? As our royal guests," she adds.

"T-that sounds great."

"And you two are welcome to a room in the castle for as long as you need, and don't worry, you'll have a much more accommodating room than the dungeons could offer."

"Thank you so much your majesty."

"Please, call me Elsa, now let's get you two cleaned up," she says as she helps Ares up off the ground.

Anna helps Bryn up, and as the group begin to ascend the steps, Bryn asks, "So uh, what's for dinner?"


	6. Chapter 6

Elsa and Anna lead the two brothers to a dressing room, similar to the one meant for her and her sister. Arriving at the door, the queen says, "You two can clean up in here."

Ares gratefully replies, "Thank you Your Majesty... I mean, thank you Elsa."

The queen smiles, but worried about their injuries, "Are you sure you and your brother don't need to see a doctor?"

Ares with a slight smile, "We're fine, really. But thank you for the concern."

"Alright, Kai is on his way up with your things, Anna and I will be waiting for you down in the dining room..."

The sisters begin to walk down the hall when Anna adds, "And please don't take too long, I'm kinda hungry."

Soon after, Kai enters carrying in a large chest, "Here are all of your possessions, sirs."

The two brothers thank the servant and start going through the chest, sorting out their gear. They start putting on the clothes given to them, the soft Arendellan fabric a nice alternative to their usual attire.

"So, you going to try anything tonight, with Elsa?" Bryn asks, rolling up the sleeves to his shirt.

"Bryn..."

"What? She's pretty, at least consider it."

"Oh I won't deny that..." Ares replies, as he straps his belt to his waist. "But she's the Queen."

As Ares puts on his cloak he lets out a painful moan. His brother checks on him, "You sure you don't need to see a doctor Ares?"

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just bruising. Come here, let me see your cut."

As Ares examines his brother's head, Bryn asks, "Does it need stitches?"

"Nah you're fine, you've always had a thick skull."

Ares grabs his sword and throwing knives, leaving only two hidden blades in the chest. Bryn reaches for them both, "My babies!" Ares snatches one out of his hand, "Um no, this one is mine, you can still see the blood from that guard's hand…"

As Ares slips the hidden blade over his right wrist, Bryn checks the chest again, "Then where's my other one?! Only my left one is here."

"Hans probably took one with him as a _souvenir_, don't worry we'll get you a new one, like we do every year..."

"Dammit... he could have at least taken the left one... Wait no, fuck that! He shouldn't have taken either. That asshole..."

"Don't even know why you need two, one's the way to go."

Bryn gives a shove to his brother as they leave the room, "I'm just more of a badass than you, so I deserve two."

The two brothers make their way to the dining room, both sisters waiting for them at the table, Elsa in a beautiful blue dress and Anna in a cute, yet modest outfit.

In her excited tone, Anna is first to acknowledge the brothers arriving, "Took you guys long enough, I hope you guys like lutefisk! And oh, no hoods at the table."

The two brothers take their seats, slipping off their hoods as they sit down. Elsa turns to Ares, "You guys are okay with fish right? If not we can have something else brought out."

Ares cuts her off, "Oh no, fish is fine," shooting her a smile, "Thank you Elsa."

Elsa failing to conceal her blush, "Welcome."

A servant brings out a large silver platter, and reveals four plates, each steaming as he set them down.

Bryn immediately begins to stuff his face, _Dear God this is so good, I haven't eaten in a week!_

Anna begins to laugh at him, "You do know the bone is still in the fish right?"

Bryn swallowing a mouth full of lutefisk, "Uh...There is?"

"Yes dummy, you have to cut around it. Here, let me help you." Anna gets out of her chair and begins to cut his meal for him, Bryn just sitting back and admiring her beautiful face and red hair.

Meanwhile, Elsa and Ares have a conversation of their own, "Ares, tomorrow... I'm doing something special for the people of Arendelle, and I'd really like it if you'd attend."

"I'd love to, what do you have planned?"

With a smile on her face, "It's a surprise, you just have to be there. Okay?... I mean you and your brother."

"Okay Elsa, we'll be there."

Elsa notices there's still a little bit of dried blood on the side of Ares' head, "Wow, you really did a good job at cleaning up..." She licks her thumb and wipes it off, resting her hand on his cheek as she feels the warmth of his face, Ares stunned by the cold of her hand at first, but then relaxing. The two lock eyes, not saying a word.

Anna and Bryn begin to stare at the two, Anna whispering, "Bryn, your brother definitely has a thing for my sister..."

"...and your sister definitely has a thing for my brother..."

"Should we say something? Kinda awkward sitting here with that going on."

Bryn clears his throat, Elsa's eyes rip away from Ares, "Were you two... Just sitting there staring?"

Bryn letting out a laugh, "Oh of course not My Queen."

The four enjoy themselves as the night goes on, the dining hall filled with laughter, storytelling and a few glasses of champagne.

As they finish eating, Anna just refuses to let the fun end, "We should go around and show these two our city!"

Ares letting out a yawn, "No I'm good, I'm beat." Letting out a laugh, "_Literally_, I'll just hit the hay."

Bryn trying to hold back his excitement, eager to spend more time with the princess, "Hell yeah!.. I mean uh yeah sure, that'd be cool."

Queen Elsa finally joins the conversation, "I don't feel like going out Anna, take Bryn. And I'll show Ares to his room."

Anna grabs Bryn's arms and springs from the table, "Let's go Bryn! The city is beautiful at night!"

Before Anna and Bryn leave the dining room, Ares yells out to his brother, "Bryn! Stay out of trouble!"

"Yeah yeah yeah..." Bryn replies, Anna giggling as they rush out the door.

Elsa and Ares sit in the hall, alone, as the servants begin to clear the table. A smile forms on the Queen's face, "Alright let's go Ares, I'll show you to your room.


	7. Chapter 7

Elsa and Ares walk through the halls, chatting as they make their way to a guest bedroom. Ares can't help but stare as she lets her hair fall from the tight bun it had been in before, "Ugh, I hate having my hair up." She looks to him, her french braid swinging over her left shoulder, almost glowing in the moonlight.

"It looks beautiful either way."

Elsa starts to blush, "Thank you Ares."

They arrive at the door, and she leads Ares inside, "Well, here's where you'll be staying. Your brother will be next door, whenever he decides to come back from his night with my sister."

"Ah they'll be fine." He looks around at the tall ceilings and the king-sized bed, "Wow, a lot nicer than the dungeon."

Elsa giggling, "Yeah, it sure is…" She pauses as he looks around the room, thinking of the best way to word her next sentence, "I uh, I know what you are by the way."

Ares unsure of what she's talking about, "And what am I?"

"An Assassin, for the brotherhood."

Ares a bit stunned, "How do you know of the brotherhood?"

Elsa opens the balcony door and sits on the ledge, Ares following her outside. "My father had a good friend who was an assassin. He always did jobs for him, whenever he needed something done quietly, he was the man... He was from Italy, everytime he came he would bring us a gift, toys, candy, we even got a bike once. He was one of the few people I was allowed to see as a child, since I was always locked inside my room, his name was Alex."

Ares' heart sank at the sound of his mentor's name. The feelings he had at the beginning of the week rush back to him, as he stumbles backwards into the room. Elsa, concerned, follows him in and closes the balcony doors behind her, "I'm sorry! D-did I say something?"

Ares looks down, having no idea how much he could've meant to her, "Alex was my mentor... He... he's gone now."

Elsa wraps her arms around him, "Oh Ares I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

Ares tenses up at her touch, letting out a small wince as Elsa pulls back from the hug, horrified she may have hurt him further. She fiddles with her hands, not knowing what to do as she asks what's wrong, but more through the look in her eyes than with her words.

"Oh don't worry, it's nothing. It's just my ribs..."

"Ugh, I told you to see a doctor, let me see them."

Ares takes off his cloak, and pulls off his shirt.

Elsa's eyes widen as she whispers, "Woah..."

"What? Is it bad?"

"No... Your ribs are fine... It's your tattoos that shocked me." Elsa examines the markings covering Ares' torso and arms.

"Oh yeah, I got them in the Caribbean, they're huge there."

She runs her hand down Ares' chest, "I've heard about them, never seen one before though... You have a lot of scars too."

Ares trying hard not to blush, "Yeah, I got those from Bryn."

"Bryn gave them to you?"

Ares letting out a small laugh, "Oh no, I got them from protecting him, and bailing him out of trouble. I can remember how I got every scar."

She runs her hand along a series of scars on his left ribs, "What are these from?"

"Stab wounds. Bryn had a gambling problem a few years ago, he owed some money to some bad people. When they came looking for him, I claimed I was him, and learned his lesson for him."

"They just went right up to you and…"

"Yeah, I didn't speak to Bryn for a week, I literally couldn't, it hurt too much."

A puff of cold air escapes her nose, before she runs her hand against another scar on his right collarbone, "How about this one?"

"When Bryn and I were first learning to free run, he slipped and fell off the side of the building, I caught him by the foot, but the force popped my shoulder out of place and broke my collarbone."

Elsa, amazed at Ares' stories, "You would do anything for your brother, wouldn't you?"

"Well yeah, he's all the family I have, he doesn't always make the best choices but I love him. I would do whatever it takes to protect him."

Elsa stands on her toes, wrapping her arms around Ares' neck as she closes her eyes and touches her lips with his, "I can relate."

Ares pulls back from the kiss, but keeps his face close to hers, her arms still wrapped around him, speaking quietly, "I... I'm not royalty... If we do this, the people won't approve. I'm not good enough for you."

Elsa speaking just as softly, "It's not anyone else's job but mine to decide who is good enough for me. I don't want a prince, a boy who was spoon fed everything to him, and doesn't know the meaning of pain. No one will ever understand what I went through, but you come close..."

Ares wraps his arms around her waist and continues to kiss her, his hands eventually moving up to her shoulders. As he begins to slip off her dress, Elsa catches it before anything is exposed. She lets off a small giggle as she pulls back from Ares' lips, "How about you stay around for a bit longer? I do want you... To stay I mean... I just..."

"Elsa, it's my fault I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"No... It's not that I don't... Just, please stay around? I want to spend more time with you."

Running the palm of his hand along Elsa's cheek, "I'm not going anywhere."


	8. Chapter 8

Anna and Bryn race through the city streets, Bryn sidestepping in and out of people's way as Anna tugs him along by one arm.

"Sorry! Excuse me… Pardon! Shit Anna slow down!"

Anna giggles, tugging his arm harder, "We're almost there, it's this way!"

Bryn laughs as they make their way across town, towards a waterfall in the distance.

Anna finally slows down when they enter the town square, where people sit and drink in taverns, watch street performers, and dance along to the music filling the streets.

Bryn taking it all in, "Wow this place isn't that bad when it's not freezing cold and covered in ice," shooting the girl a smile.

The princess giggles as the two of them walk past the market stalls, "Gee thanks, c'mon we're almost there."

Walking through the market, Bryn sees a sign entitled, _Arendelle Ale_, hanging outside a local tavern.

Before he can take a step towards the door, Anna yanks him back by his hood, "No ale!"

"C'mon! I have to try Arendelle's famous ale!"

"Just grab some at the castle when we head back," she adds, squeezing his hand.

"But.. But... Ugh, fine..." he reluctantly agrees, not wanting to let go of the girl's hand.

"The castle will have plenty, trust me, now come on, do you want to see the city or not?"

Bryn can't help but to smile, glad to see she's still eager to show him the city, "Alright Anna, lead the way."

Near midnight, the two finally reach the base of the waterfall. The roaring water surging down into the fjord as the cool mist dampens their clothing, a droplet of water floating its way down Anna's face.

Bryn laughs as she wriggles her button nose, trying to shake the water off. She lets go of his hand, "Well, here it is."

"It's a pretty waterfall... But is this it?"

"Nope! Now we have to get to the top." Anna lets out a sigh as she points over to a trail, "Which means we have to hike up that..."

Bryn, picking her up in his arms, "That's where you're wrong Princess."

Bryn carries Anna across the river, and begins to ascend the trail. Anna wraps her arms around his neck, winking at him. "Wow Bryn, you really know how to sweep a girl off her feet."

As they reach the top, Bryn sets her down. She walks over and takes a seat on the ledge overlooking the whole city, "Come join me."

Bryn sits down beside the princess, her red hair glowing in the moonlight.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

Bryn can't help but to stare, her features glowing from the city lights in the distance, "Yeah it really is..."

Anna turns to notice him staring, "I was talking about the city..." She blushes as she looks up at him, "...And you also just called me an it," delivering a punch to Bryn's arm.

"I was talking about your hair…"

Anna giggles, tucking it behind her right ear. "Oh so only my hair's beautiful?"

"No, that's not what I meant... All of you is beautiful."

_Smooth Bryn… Real smooth..._

A few seconds pass before Anna breaks the silence, "Hey Bryn, can I ask for some advice?"

"Shoot."

"So there's this guy named Kristoff... And well, yesterday I gave him a new sled... and I kissed him, but ever since then it's been awkward, it feels like I forced things... I see him more as a friend than anything."

"Well then, keep him as a friend, no need to push it. If he's a good friend, you wouldn't want to ruin that, right?"

Anna wraps herself around Bryn's arm, "Thanks Bryn."

A few minutes pass as the two look out over the city, Anna resting her head on Bryn's shoulder.

Bryn gazes down and notices a hay bundle at the bottom of the waterfall, near stables by the shore. "Hey... Wanna do something crazy?"

"What is it?"

"You're going to have to trust me on this..."

"Trust you on what Bryn?"

"What would you say about us jumping down into the hay pile down there?"

"Wait what?"

"Yeah, we call it the 'leap of faith', I do it all the time."

"Well I did survive a 200-ft fall from a cliff..."

"We'll live... Trust me."

"Okay... I trust you."

The two stand up and step out onto the ledge, Bryn wrapping his arms around Anna's waist as he holds her tight. He steps off the cliff.

The first thing Anna notices is the sharpness of the mist as it flies towards her face, making her eyes water, she can't help but to scream the whole way down. Bryn's white cloak flaps in the wind as he positions Anna for a soft landing, arching his back and pulling her closer.

Hay flies into the air as they land, Bryn and Anna both laughing, "Bryn that was amazing! I mean, a lot harder than snow, but still amazing."

Bryn lays back into the pile, "Yeah... It sure was. Never gets old..."

Anna lays back with him, resting her head on his chest, "Can I ask you another question?"

"Anything."

The two looking up at the night sky, filled with stars, "Do you ever wish some nights didn't have to end?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well... I wish this was one of those nights."

Bryn leans in and presses his lips to Anna's. She closes her eyes, somewhat surprised, but nonetheless kisses him back.

After a few seconds Anna pulls back and buries her face in his chest, "Ugh, I'm sorry."

"No, no! It's okay, you didn't do anything."

"I just... I feel like I've rushed it with every guy I've met so far. Can we just take this slow?"

Bryn places a small kiss on the top of Anna's head, "Of course," as the roar of the falls put the two to sleep, Anna lying atop Bryn's chest.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, the sun shines bright overhead, Bryn and Ares stand in the castle courtyard, eagerly waiting for Elsa and Anna to make their appearance. The gates lie open as the townspeople come and go as they please, gathering around the courtyard in anticipation.

"So... Ares, how was your night last night? Anything happen after me and Anna left?"

"Nope," the older brother replies, not wanting to entertain his brothers imagination.

"You sure? Because I'm your brother, and you can tell me if you banged the queen."

"Bryn! Shut up!"

"What? It's a valid question Ares."

"No, nothing happened between me and the queen... Wait... Okay I didn't do _that_ with Elsa."

"Ah so something did happen between you and Elsa, just not _that_..."

Ares drops his face into his palms, letting off an exaggerated sigh, "Bryn... Please... Just shut the fuck up..."

"Pinky promise you didn't bang the queen?"

"Stop talking about her like that, she's the queen, and no, I will not make a pinky promise."

"So you did do it," Bryn smirks.

"For the fucking hundredth time, NO!"

"Then why won't you make the promise?" he asks, holding his left pinky out to his brother.

"Because I'm a grown man Bryn, not a fucking child."

"Hey, pinky promises are made by everyone, it's the highest promise you can..."

Ares, cutting his brother off before he can continue, "And how was _your_ night with the princess huh?"

"Uhh..." before Bryn can come up with an answer, the queen and princess step out of the castle.

Elsa walks out in front of the crowd, wearing a beautiful dress made of ice, her hair down in her signature braid. The light dances off the Queen's dress with every movement of her body. Her sister stands next to her, wearing a modest green and white dress. The two brothers stand in the crowd, their jaws agape.

"Is that dress made of ice? Have you seen her in that before?"

"No Bryn... This is just as new to me as it is to you."

Bryn looks over to his brother, Ares' eyes fixated on the queen as she asks the crowd, "Are you ready?" A slight look of anxiety flashes across her face, but vanishes as the people clap and cheer in confirmation.

"Uhhh, Ares... You're staring again."

Ares ignores his brother, keeping his eyes locked on the queen.

Elsa stomps her foot on the ground, sending ice all throughout the cobblestone floor. It spreads it's way outward from her stomp, creating beautifully crafted ice pillars along the walls. She then raises her arms, and in one fluid motion freezes each fountain beside her, beautiful ice sculptures forming out of the flowing water. Elsa then forms snowball in her hands, and sends it flying into the air. The brothers and the townspeople stand in awe as the ball of magic bursts into a show of snowflakes, shimmering in the glow of the sun.

Bryn sticks out his hand, catching a snowflake in his palm like he had a week prior, the melted drop of water still cold to the touch, "Ares this is incredible."

The brothers look on as Elsa creates ice skates for her sister with a simple wave of her hand, Anna just as amazed as they are.

Ares turns to his younger brother, "C'mon, let's go talk to them."

"Why can't you make me a pair of ice skates Ares? I wish you were cool like Elsa."

"I swear to God Bryn... If you say one more stupid thing... I'm going to kill you..."

Bryn giving his brother a playful shove, "Calm down man, I'm just giving you a hard time."

As they make their way over to the two sisters, shuffling their feet along trying not to slip on the ice, Anna is the first to notice them, "Bryn! Ares! You made it!"

Ares replies, "Wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Anna giving her sister a shove, pushing her into ares arms, "Just so you know, she threw that dress back on just for you."

Elsa nervously plays with her hair as she looks up at ares "Do you like it?"

Holding her by the hips, "I love it, you look... Absolutely beautiful."

Before Elsa can reply, an enthusiastic voice from below greets them, "Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!"

Bryn and Ares look down to see a living snowman, Bryn leaping backwards while he screams out, "What the hell is that!?"

Elsa sticks both of her hands up in an effort to calm him down, "It's okay Bryn! This is Olaf... I created him."

Ares answers before his brother gets the chance, "Wait... You created him?"

"Yeah."

"A living, breathing snowman?"

"Yes..." Elsa turning to Olaf, "Wait, Olaf, do you breathe air?"

"Nope." the snowman answers, rocking back and forth on his mounds.

Elsa turning back to Ares, "So no, not a breathing snowman, but yes Ares, he is alive, and he can talk!"

"I see that… That's, something..." Ares takes a knee to get down to Olaf's height, "Hello Olaf, I'm Ares, and this is my brother Bryn, he's pretty scared of you."

"I'm not scared! It's a pretty natural reaction if someone were to meet a talking snowman," Bryn says, shuffling farther away from Olaf.

Olaf puts his arms out towards Ares, "Well hi Ares, warm hug?"

"Uhh no thanks Olaf... Maybe next time?"

Ares gets up and walks towards the queen, who stands besides her sister, smiling up at him. "So Ares... What I said last night... You're going to stay here. Right?" Anna interrupts, "Bryn too, he can stay."

Bryn joins the conversation, answering for his brother, "We'd love to, but we have some things to take care of."

Ares tightly grabs his brother by his arm and pulls him to the side, "What the fuck Bryn?!"

"What? You said we'd go to the Southern Isles, for Alex."

"And we will, I promise. But I uh..." Ares runs his fingers through his dark brown hair, trying to think of an excuse to stay, "I need rest, I'm still hurting pretty bad."

Bryn looks down as his feet, wanting nothing more than to avenge his mentor, but takes the bait, "Alright fine, we can stay, 'til you're better, then we go right?"

"Yes Bryn, once I'm better I promise you we'll go, for Alex," a twinge of guilt tugs at Ares' heart as he manipulates his brother.

Ares' words send a look of sadness across Bryn's eyes, "But how long will you need?"

"I don't know, two... maybe three..."

"Two what? Days? Weeks? Months?"

"Maybe four..."

Before Bryn can say anything more, Ares turns to Elsa, "Of course I'm going to stay, like I said, I'm not going anywhere…"


	10. Chapter 10

_3 months later_

"You're really hanging it all up? For me?"

Elsa walks into the study, wrapping her arms around Ares. They stand in the middle of the room, Ares staring at his brotherhood armor and cloak, now hanging inside glass cases. His sword hangs on a rack, the silver-plated steel glowing red from the fireplace.

Ares, giving a kiss to her arms wrapped around his neck, her cold skin a nice counterbalance to the heat of the fire, "Of course."

"When do you plan to tell your brother?"

"...Today"

"How will he take your retirement?"

Ares finally slips off his hidden blade, and shuts the glass door, the single blade resting in the center of it all. He walks away from the case and sits down on a couch, "Umm... He'll take it well... I'm sure."

Elsa follows him to the couch, she sits on his lap, and wraps herself around him once again, "Liar, now how will he really take it?"

Ares, putting his hands on her hips, "I don't know to be honest, he's my brother... So if it's what I want... He should be okay with my choice, right?"

Elsa, placing a small kiss on his cheek, "I'm sure he will." She begins to play with his short dark hair, "I'm really glad I found you in my dungeon."

Ares can't help but to smile like an idiot, glad to see she can still cheer him up, even now, "Yeah, the dungeon was really fun, meeting a beautiful queen was just a bonus."

Elsa giggles and slaps him in the chest, "And to think it's only been three months."

"Yeah, it's been great falling in lov..." Ares stops himself from completing the sentence.

Elsa's eyes widen, a large smile appearing on her face, "What was that? You were saying something?"

"Uhh... nothing."

"Liar! It started with an L."

Ares mind begins to race, _Alright Ares, you do love her, you can say this, no problem._

"I lo... I lov... I lov...ike you?"

Elsa, in a playfully sarcastic tone, begins to tease him, "Wow Ares, that's impressive. Your feelings for me are so strong you had to make up a new word? How do you pronounce that exactly?"

Ares embarrassed, buries his face into Elsa's chest, "You know what I mean."

She rests her head on top of his, "I do, but it doesn't count, I'm very fond of you too, but I won't be the first to say it."

"Okay okay." Ares looks up at Elsa, locking eyes, "Elsa, I lov..."

Ares is once again interrupted, but this time by a knock on the door, his brother's voice on the other side, "Ares? You wanted to see me."

Ares, slow to reply, "Uh yeah, give me a sec."

Elsa gets up off Ares' lap, and gives him one last kiss on the lips, "Good luck with Bryn, if it goes well, meet me and Anna down at the garden, we'll all go out to town and get some lunch."

"It won't go well, but okay."

Elsa wraps her hand around the doorknob, but stops and turns around before opening the door. Ares lifts his eyes to hers and stares into them one last time, a look of empathy on her face. Nothing more is said. She opens the door, and greets Bryn as she exits the room, closing the door behind her.

Bryn is the first to speak, not noticing the glass case on the other side of the room, "So... You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, take a seat," the older one says as he still sits on the couch.

Bryn leans on a bookshelf and crosses his arms, "No, I'm good, and I know why you wanted to talk to me."

Ares, surprised, springs off the couch, "Fuck, look Bryn I'm sorry!"

Bryn cutting him off, now just as confused as his brother, "Sorry? Why would you be sorry? You were going to tell me that we're finally leaving... right?"

"No Bryn... It's actually the opposite..." Ares looks away, and immediately jerks his head in the other direction when he looks towards the case.

"What the fuck do you mean!? You promised me we'd leave when you felt better, it's been three fucking months! You don't even wear your gear anymore, instead you hang it up like you're Ezio fucking Auditore! Look at yourself!"

Ares looks down, wearing a purple silk shirt with his sleeves rolled up, his shirt tucked into his pants, "I think I look nice."

"You look like a fucking fool! That's not you! Did you forget about Hans and his brothers? About Alex? About Mom?!"

"Of course I didn't forget!"

"Then why don't you want to bring them justice?"

"Justice, or revenge Bryn?!"

"It doesn't matter! Alex would have wanted us to go! Are you really going to give it all up for a girl!?"

Ares' voice wavers, his anger subsiding, "For once, she's someone I don't have to save, she's saving me... from a life I don't want anymore... I love her Bryn, why can't you just be happy for me?"

"You go balls deep into the queen and all of a sudden you think you're a king."

Before Bryn can say anything else, Ares' fist connects with his jaw. Bryn falls to the floor, his own blood smearing across the wood.

Ares stands over him, pointing his finger down as if it were a sword, "Don't you ever talk about her like that again!"

Bryn lays on the floor, looking up at his brother with hatred on his face, wiping the blood running from his mouth.

Ares breaks the silence, "Nothing to say huh?"

As he turns to walk away, Bryn springs up off the floor, tackling his brother from behind, ramming him up against the wooden door. He repeatedly delivers punches to Ares' sides. "Fuck you! I'm your brother! Family comes first, not some damn girl!"

Ares delivers an elbow to Bryn's face, causing Bryn to stumble back, "Maybe one day I want her to become family! You want Hans so bad! Go fucking get him! You don't need me, you're not a child anymore."

Bryn walks over to the window and opens it, "Fine, I don't need you, I never did."

Ares, frustrated, rubs his eyes, "Bryn, take the door like a fucking normal person."

As Bryn steps out onto the windowsill, "No fuck that, if you want to be normal, fine, but I'm still an Assassin."

Bryn looks out, scanning the rooftops for the most efficient path down. He nearly makes the jump when he sees men wearing all-black scaling the building. _What the fuck?_ Before his brain can process what's happening a hand appears in-between his feet, causing him to lose balance and fall back into the room.

The hand climbs into the room, revealing a bearded man donned in all black armor. He yells to his companions, "I found one of the brotherhood's assassins, I'll finish him off, you six go take care of the bitch and her sister."

Bryn lays on the floor once again, looking up at the man, he notices the Templar's Cross on his armor.

The man places his foot on Bryn's chest, not allowing him to get up, "The Templar Order will be the fall to your kind Assassin."

Bryn draws his hidden blade and rams it through the man's leg, he lets out a cry of pain as he looks up to see Ares standing there.

"You fucked up." Ares pushes the Templar backwards, sending him flying out the window.

Ares, offering his hand out to Bryn, "C'mon, we have to get to Elsa and Anna before they do."

Bryn pushes Ares' hand away, getting up on his own, "Let's go," as he sprints out of the door.


	11. Chapter 11

Ares and Bryn race through the empty castle halls, no guards to impede them on their way through the castle. They make twists and turns, passing through empty rooms, still bickering like they had been moments before the attack. "Wish you wore your armor now, huh Ares?"

"Shut up Bryn, this is all your fault!"

"How's this my fault? You're the one that wanted to retire!"

"No you idiot! If it wasn't for you, we would be with the girls right now, ready to defend them!"

"You wouldn't be able to do much of anything, seeing as the only thing standing between these templars and the girls would be your silk," Bryn replies, a cheeky grin on his face.

Infuriated, Ares continues on, not willing to put up with his brother, only running alongside him now due to a mutual destination. They soon come to the door that leads into the garden, but Bryn races past it.

"Garden! Take a left!" Ares yells out.

Bryn stops to face him, "But I was gonna go arou-"

"No, we face them together, take them by surprise." _And it's the only chance I've got…_

Bryn hesitates, but reluctantly shifts his feet, and moves back towards his brother. "Fine, but you can't just go in there there unarmed." He reaches for his right wrist, cursing when he realizes he still doesn't have his old hidden blade, even after three months. He drops his hands and looks up at Ares, not knowing what else to do.

Ares, seeing that his brother still cares for his safety, "I'll find something, don't worry."

The two brothers burst through the doors, and look to see Elsa and Anna in the corner of the garden, backed up against the wall. All of the guards lie dead on the floor as the Templars close in on them. Elsa stands in front of her sister, "Get behind me Anna!"

Ares and Bryn maneuver through the bushes, holding on to the element of surprise for as long as they can. Ares positions himself to the right of the group, ready to disarm any who come within reach.

Bryn moves silently through the shrubbery, careful in calculating each of his foot steps, inching his way closer to the Templars, who are quickly closing in on the royal pair. The girls continue to move backward, three templars surrounding them while three more guard the perimeter.

Bryn is the first to strike, ramming his hidden blade through the back of a Templar. The sight of the hooded figure rising out of the bushes causes Anna's eyes to go wide. He looks her in the eyes, and she soon realizes who it is, failing to hide a mixed look of anxiety and relief.

**Ares sprints towards the nearest templar, using a rock, he leaps up into the air and connects his right fist to the Templar's head. The blow knocks the man unconscious, his helmet sent flying while the sound of his armor crashing to the floor alerts his companions.**

Ares shakes his right hand in the air, biting his bottom lip, _"__fuck that hurt." _He then grabs the man's sword off the ground, and quickly turns to his brother, "Bryn, get Elsa and Anna out of here!"

"Fuck that! You don't even have gear! I'll fight, you get them to safety!"

"No! Bryn, do as I say! Their lives are more important than mine!" Ares turns towards the Templars, giving Bryn his back, he whispers to himself,"and so is yours."

Bryn sheaths his blades, and lets out a barely audible "shit!" while he grabs Elsa and Anna by the hands, "C'mon let's go!"

Elsa, trying to escape Bryn's grip, "No Ares! I can help!"

Anna cuts her sister off, catching her by the wrist, "Elsa! We have to go!"

The Templars begin to circle Ares. One lifting his sword over his head, brings it down and swings at Ares, their blades colliding as Ares turns to his brother one last time, "Bryn go!

The three flee the scene, leaving Ares alone, the slam of the door echoing throughout the garden.

The four Templars surround him, Ares stands in the center, taking up a defensive position as he watches their feet, the shadows dancing around him. They begin to swing their blades, taking shots at the young assassin, he narrowly dodges each blow. Ares being outnumbered 4 to 1, begins to lose ground.

One of the Templars turns to a man next to him, pointing his sword in the direction of Bryn and the sisters, "Christian, go after them."

The man named Christian turns to go, but instead looks up to see a hooded figure falling towards him. "Brotherhood!" is the only thing to escape his mouth before a sharp pain runs through his right leg.

He screams as an arrow is seen sticking out of his kneecap, the steel digging through the man's leg. All heads turn to Christian as the hooded figure plunges a sword through his chest. Two more men drop from the rooftops, Ares just as confused as the Templars. _Brotherhood?_

Ares takes his chance, grabbing the arm of the nearest man, flipping over his body and slicing clean through his neck. The sound of metal hitting stone jolts the remaining Templars back into the fight.

Ares turns to see a Templar rushing him with his blade above his head. Ares side steps and delivers a kick to the man's knee, causing it to bend backwards. Ares slips off the man's helmet, and looks him in the eyes before cutting his head off. It rolls into the bushes as another body drops to the floor, the stone soaked with blood as the smell of death flows through the mid-October air.

Ares looks up to see the three assassins surrounding the final Templar. The man drops his sword to the ground, bending his knees and sticking his neck out. "Do it quickly."

The three look towards each other, not accustomed to traditional executions. Ares watches as one finally pulls out his sword, already stained with the blood of another templar. The other two grab the man by the arms, pulling him up, sitting him on his knees.

Ares turns away as the sword is quickly driven in through the top of his neck, down through his torso, and just as quickly pulled out again.

He sheathes his sword and turns to the others, who drop the man on his stomach. "James, Michael, return home." The two quickly rush up and over the wall and disappear.

The remaining assassin turns to Ares, who stands with a stunned look on his face. "Brotherhood!"

"A thank you would be nice, you're Ares right? The older brother?"

"Wait, how the fuck do you know my name?"

"I'll explain everything later, meanwhile you can get some answers out of him," he says as he points to the unconscious Templar on the ground.

"No! I want _you _to start talking. Elsa and Anna are nearly killed and you just act like it's a regular Tuesday?!"

"You should go check on the queen. After that meet me at the brotherhood hideout downtown, by the ports. Our flag flies on the steeple, you can't miss it."

He begins to walk away, but turns to Ares one last time, "The name's Alec by the way."

With that, he scales the side of the building, disappearing over the rooftops.


	12. Chapter 12

Ares runs through the castle halls, searching for any signs of Bryn and the sisters.

"Bryn!?"

He checks inside the study, the same study where they had been arguing just a few minutes before.

"Elsa! Anna?"

Ares stops running. Beginning to think the worst, he starts to run his fingers through his hair. "Fuck!" he screams through clenched teeth. He crumbles to the ground and sinks to his knees. His arms drop to the hardwood floor, his breathing heavy, chest heaving in and out.

His eyes shoot open to the sound of another's voice, "Ares, over here!"

Ares turns around to see Bryn standing in a doorway, he gets up while letting off a sigh of relief.

Ares enters the dining room, "Bryn! Are, are you okay?"

"Yeah, can't say the same about Elsa and Anna though, they're a little shaken up."

Ares walks over to the sisters, both sitting around the table, and takes a seat. Anna in tears, Elsa frightened but trying to comfort her sister.

Elsa is the first to speak, she grabs Ares' hand, "I'm glad you're okay."

"How are you guys?"

"Just a little scared that's all." Elsa tries to lighten the mood, "It's not like it's the first time someone has tried to take my life."

Anna interrupts before Ares can respond, but keeps her eyes fixed on her sister. "Ares why would someone try to hurt us!?"

"I don't know Anna, but I'm going to find out."

"If you and Bryn didn't show up, they would have kil-"

Ares cuts the young princess off, and wipes the tears from her face. She turns to him, seeing the passion he has for her and her sister in his eyes. "No, don't say that, I'll never let anything happen to you or Elsa. You two are my family, and I'll protect you two like I've done with Bryn my whole life. I promise."

Anna mumbles out a barely audible "Okay," as she falls into her sister's arms.

With that, Ares gets up and walks across the room to his brother, who's sitting on the door, arms crossed as he thinks hard on the situation. "Bryn, we have one of them still alive, I threw him in a cell."

Bryn interrupts, "Alright, let's go get some answers then."

"No Bryn, I'm going alone."

"Why? I want to help."

"You're the only one I trust to protect Elsa and Anna right now, I need you here."

"But the guards can-"

"Dammit Bryn, they're safest with you, just stay here. After I get some answers were going to the local brotherhood." Ares leaves the room, Bryn staring back at his brother, until the door finally shuts once again.

"Wait what? Brotherhood? In Arendelle?"


	13. Chapter 13

Ares walks into a cell carrying a bucket of water, the Templar sitting in a wooden chair, right in the middle of the room. His feet are each tied to a chair leg, tight ropes ripping up his ankles against the splintered wood. The man sits in an uncomfortable position, his arms tied behind his back, heavy shackles forcing his shoulders and back to support him.

Ares sets the bucket down and begins to lightly slap the man. "Hey." No response.

"Hey, wake up!" Ares voice rises as he delivers a punch to the man's face, the assassin's fist leaving a mark on the templar's cold, red face.

The Templars eyes shoot open. "You think I'll just start talkin', now that I'm captured? You think I'm just some nobleman's son who will spill his guts out for anyone wielding a dagger to his neck?"

"How do you know I didn't just come down here to have some fun?"

Ares pulls out a small knife, grabbing a stool from the sidewall. He sets the stool down behind the chair, sitting himself behind his prisoner.

The man clenches his hands into a fist as Ares begins to run the dull end of the knife along the prisoner's fingers. Beads of sweat leaking off onto the knife, riding their way down to the floor.

The man lets out screams of pain as his ring finger falls clean off his hand.

"That's one," Ares says as he jabs the little finger with his blade, and holds it up to the templar's eyes.

The man winces, writhing his hands around trying to somehow escape his own pain. The man finally gains enough composure to spit blood in Ares' face. "Fuck you," the man says, red spit still dripping from his lip.

Ares rams the knife into the man's left kneecap, digging his way into the cartilage, he begins to twirl the blade around, "How fast can you limp, maybe you're competent enough to deliver a message?"

The man moans, the thought of what Hans would do to him scaring him almost as much as his current situation, "I... I."

Before he can say anything more, Ares grabs the man by the head and holds the knife up to the prisoner's dry mouth. "Does your tongue still work? Speak up!"

"Okay...Just please… Stop… I'll talk."

Ares grabs him by his rags and pushes the man backward. The chair tips over and he lands on his back, still tied down, unable to get up. Ares rips off the left sleeve of his shirt and places it over the Templars' face, who tries to shake it off, but to no avail.

Ares walks over to the bucket of water, "Oh, I know you will."

He watches as the water slowly pours down onto the man's face, the droplets leaping up and down ferociously as the man thrashes in his seat.

The bucket finally runs empty with water, and Ares throws it down onto the man's face, breaking his nose.

Ares picks the chair back up, and removes the cloth from the Templars' face, wiping his blade clean. Ares pulls his face close to his, and puts the newly cleansed knife to the man's throat, anger burning in his eyes. "I know who sent you, but I want to hear you say it. If you even try to lie to me, it will only get worse."

The templar's voice wavers with fear. "Yes... Hans sent us..."

"Why did he wait three months to send you?" Ares pulls the knife away from the man's throat, glad to finally have some cooperation from the stubborn man.

"When he got back home, he didn't go unpunished for what he did. It wasn't much of a punishment, but his brothers had him in a cell for three months. Once he was released, he sent us...after all of you."

"All of us?"

"He doesn't just want the queen and princess dead, you and your brother too, he's paranoid you'd want revenge for killing your mentor. He wanted to tie up all loose ends."

"Oh he better be fucking paranoid," Ares mumbles as he turns away from the man, the momentary peace of a civilized conversation crumbling as the chair's legs squeak harshly against the floor.

The Templar begins to beg for his life. "Please just, let me go, let me live... Please! I have a family."

Ares snaps and rams his blade through the man's throat, "So do I."

Blood splatters on Ares' face as he drives the dagger deep into the man's neck, his eyes slowly but surely losing their color. The man chokes on his own blood as it rushes down his body, and covers Ares' hands. He picks up the wet rag, cleaning his hands off as he sheathes his dagger. He walks towards the door, but turns around, looking at the chaos he'd just caused.

"And I'll do whatever it takes to protect mine."

Ares slams the door and walks out, the echoes of iron hitting iron ringing through the dark halls.


	14. Chapter 14

The townspeople gather on the bridge. The rumors of an attempt on Queen Elsa's life couldn't be true, could they?

Two men sit under a lamppost, watching peasants and nobles alike creep towards the gates.

"Of course not, she's got those powers, froze the whole town last summer, even the fjord."

"Doesn't mean people couldn't get her from behind. They say those hooded people, you know the ones with the wrist blades? Anyway, they say that a bunch of em' are hangin' around the ports, even got their own boat."

The wealthier looking man stares at his friend, surprised by the news. "They've got their very own boat and the guards still haven't done anything about the situation?"

"That's the thing, they can't find it, all I know is that my friend's son Nev, stablehand, good lad, sees em' come in. They must tip off the guards during the night to keep from being discovered." The man answers, picking his teeth in between his fingernails. He then proceeds to grab a leftover piece of meat from his mouth, wiping it on his grimy, plain brown overcoat.

"They probably just kill them you know?"

"I- I'm gonna forget you said that… My brother's in the guard. And..." The man gets cut off by a young man running into him.

The young man turns around, but continues to run, "Sorry!"

Ares shakes his head at his brother as he continues to make his way through the street, weaving in and out of people. "I should have left you back at the castle."

"They'll be fine Ares, Elsa and Anna are surrounded by guards, unless you're referring to the guy I bumped into, I'm sure he's fine too. Besides, meeting Arendelle's brotherhood is pretty important. How the fuck did they know your name by the way?"

"I don't know Bryn, just keep an eye out for a building with our flag."

"Could they have been watching us?"

"It's possible."

Bryn trails his brother, and notices blood covering his right sleeve. "You should have really cleaned up, you look like a madman traipsing around in that."

Ares is still wearing the same blood-soaked clothes, missing his left sleeve entirely.

"I don't traipse, and besides, there was no time."

"Well at least the interrogation went well. So, have you changed your mind about going?"

"Yes, but only because I know Hans will never stop coming after us if we don't get to him first."

Bryn sticks his arm out to the side, forcing Ares to stop walking. "Look, for the things I said earlier... This isn't an apology… Okay, this is an apology. I'm sorry for what I said. I was just mad, but.. If you want to retire after this... I'm okay with that, we have to grow up sometime right? It's not your job to look after me anymore."

Ares places his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Bryn, it's okay, you say a lot of dumb things, but that's because you're stupid." Ares gives off a little smirk, "but I'm your big brother, it will always be my job to look after you."

Bryn can't help but to smile, and nods. "Eventually I'm gonna have to start catching up."

"Never gonna happen," Ares says, as he gives his brother a shove.

Bryn stumbles off, laughing as he looks down at the floor. Bryn glances up to notice the flag, and points it out. "Hey! Found it!"

Ares turns left down the other alley, and begins to head towards the front door. "Great job Bryn, let's go talk to them."

Ares slowly opens the door and walks in, "Hello?"

He is greeted by a battle-axe swinging right towards him, Ares is quick to duck. It lodges itself into the door, splintering the wood.

Ares looks at his attacker wielding the axe, a brotherhood assassin.

Before either of them can do anything a voice from the back of the room catches everyone's attention.

"Enough Matthew, these two are our guests."

The man named Matthew lowers his weapon and calmly leaves the room, "Yes sir."

Ares turns to the voice, "Alec, I want answers and I want them now."

"Ask away," the man makes a slight gesture with his hands, giving Ares the proverbial stage.

Before he can open his mouth, Bryn joins in the conversation. "How did you know my brother's name?"

"I know yours too Bryn, simple answer, we've been watching you."

"Watching us? For how long? And why?"

"A long time ago, the old leader of this faction made a deal with King Adgar," Alec waits to see if the two are still following, and continues. "The deal they struck entailed the brotherhood protecting the royal family, most specifically his daughters, Elsa and Anna. Who you two have seemed to become very well acquainted with…" Alec eyes them both, but keeps his eyes trained on Ares for a few seconds longer than his younger brother.

"Sadly, our old mentor died with the king on their ship, but since then, I've kept that promise."

Ares interrupts his story, "Wait wait wait, protect them? Where the fuck were you when Arendelle was frozen?"

"We were trying to decide whether to kill the queen or not."

Silence fills the room. Ares and Bryn both look up at the man, their breaths not making a sound.

"Touch her and I swear to God I'll kill you, I don't give a damn if you're brotherhood or not!"

"And Kane told me Bryn was the hot-tempered one, calm down Ares. At the time, we were thinking about Arendelle, it's clear she's no threat anymore. Anyways, back to what I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me. We are tasked with protecting the royal family, so you think we wouldn't notice Alex's two apprentices running amuck in the castle?"

Now it was Bryn's turn to interrupt. "Alex? How do you know him?"

"The night of the coronation, who do you think he had business with? We knew you guys were in the city. Alex, what of him now?"

For the first time in forever, Bryn's feelings resurface. "H-he's gone."

Ares interrupts, "Prince Hans did it, we need your help. Not only is Hans guilty for taking the life of a brotherhood assassin, but he's also a Templar. Him and his whole damn family. He's also responsible for the attack on the queen and princess today. If it's your job to protect them, you'll help us, because he won't stop until they're dead... Please... We can't do this without you."

"Alright, me and my team will help," the man pauses, seeing Bryn open his mouth.

"Wait what? It's that easy?"

Alec answers Bryn, taking his anticipated interruption in stride. "Not only is it my job to protect the royal family, but an unwritten rule of the Creed is to stop the Templar Order, you and your brother seem to have forgotten that during your 3 month excursion. Tomorrow we leave, we have a ship at the docks, meet us there at sundown, and I'll introduce you to the rest of the team."

Ares looks to Alec, "Thank you."

The man nods, and turns as the brothers do the same, and walk out the door.


	15. Chapter 15

Ares walks back into the same study from the day before, expecting the room to still be a wreck from his fight with his brother, but to his surprise the servants had cleaned the mess already. He walks across the hardwood floor to the couch, sits down, and cups his hands together. He can feel tears tug on the back of his eyes as he looks at his gear, partly due to him realizing he's wanted this since the moment he lost Alex, but couldn't work up the courage to leave Elsa.

He stands up, turns the latch to the glass door, and pulls off his coat. He begins to put on his gear, sticking with his silk undershirt, having grown accustomed to the feeling of the soft fabric. He then pulls on his cloak, the thicker, coarser wool offering protection from the elements.

His shoulder guard is the next piece to go on, he unhooks it from its hanger and throws it over his left shoulder. Setting the large leather pad atop his shoulder, he ties it down with an abundance of buckles and straps. Then he buttons up his trousers, staring at himself in the transparent reflection of the glass.

Grabbing a leather belt from a rack in the case, he reaches behind his waist, and loops it through his trousers. He then grabs his silver-plated sword from the wall and unsheathes it, setting the sword down on the coffee table. Ares points the scabbard towards the floor, and loosens his grip enough for it to slide down in his palms. Holding it by the end, Ares straps it to his left hip. Returning to the sword, he grabs it and attempts to sheathe the blade, but misses and pricks himself in the left thigh.

"Fuck," he murmurs under his breath. As he goes for a second try, the sound of metal moving through metal echoes through the room, while the hilt slams against the mouth of his scabbard.

He grabs his last piece of gear from the case, his hidden blade. "One last time," he breathes as he slips it on over his right wrist.

Ares fiddles with the blade, and tightening it down to his forearm, he hears a soft voice from behind him.

"Do you have to g-, please don't go."

Ares turns around to see Elsa leaning on the doorway, her blue eyes glistening in the light of the fire, her cheeks red and puffy.

"Elsa I have to-"

He is cut off by Elsa running up to him, burying her face into his chest and wrapping her arms around him. Tears run down her cheeks. "No, please. Don't go. I don't want to lose you."

"Elsa... I'll come back."

She lifts her head from Ares' chest, arching her neck to meet his eyes. "Promise me."

"Give me your hand."

Elsa, a bit confused, offers her cold, left hand out to Ares.

Ares slips off a ring from his hand, a white-gold circuit with an insignia and some characters engraved on it. He plays with it in his hand, twirling it around a thumb, before delicately placing the band on Elsa's ring finger.

"This ring, it belonged to my father. After he passed, it was all my family had left of him, it's been passed down from father to son for a couple centuries now. I want you to keep it safe for me."

Elsa examines the ring, sliding her available hand in between their palms, spinning it around to see an engraving. She quietly reads it to herself.

_"Mea anima est cum te."_

Ares places his hand under Elsa's chin, picking her head up to meet her crystal blue eyes, "'My heart is with you'. I'll be back Elsa, I promise."

Before she can say anything Ares' lips meet hers. He grabs her by the waist, her leg moving in between his own as she leans into the kiss. She pulls Ares in, standing on her toes as her fingertips dig into his neck.

Ares is the first to pull away, but makes up for it with a soft, "I love you."

Elsa flushes, her cheeks red enough to turn the tears running down her face to steam. A smile breaks out on her face, "I love you too Ares."

She buries her head into his shoulder as she wraps her arms around him. Ares resting his head on top of hers, looks out the window to see a twinge of orange reaching across the sky. "I have to go... Bryn should be waiting for me down by the gates."

Elsa holds him tighter, sliding her hands behind the leather strap running diagonally across his back. "Please, just a little longer?"

Ares kisses her on the forehead, holding her tighter as he chokes back tears of his own.

"Of course."

* * *

Anna and Bryn walk across the courtyard to the gates. Each move away from one another, dipping a hand in the cold, flowing water of a fountain on their way by. They meet in the middle once again, Anna bumping into him as he flicks his fingers dry on her face. They both chuckle as their hands meet, and the laughter stops, replaced with short-breathed gasps and meeting eyes.

They both turn away, Anna running her hair behind her ear as Bryn throws his hands into the large pockets of his cloak.

"So... Uh... Anna, I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not very good at goodbyes."

"Oh? So what do you usually do?"

"Well... There's two ways, one, a swift punch, kick, or elbow, usually to the face. But I don't think that'll go over well with you, let alone your sister. Remember the time we jumped off the roof of the chapel, into the fjord? You can still see where it tore!"

Bryn pulls out his hood, tracing his finger along a large, shoddy stitching job that runs along the brim of the hood near his right shoulder.

Anna giggles, remembering the time Elsa hung Bryn by the hood of his cloak with her ice. She had risen him out of the water that way, the humiliation 'punishment' for putting Anna in 'danger'. Elsa had no intention of punishing Bryn with anything more than a disapproving look, but Kai had been standing next to the Queen at the time.

Kai didn't particularly like Bryn.

"So what's the other way?"

"Just silently leaving the room, save the slamming of a door. That's probably even worse come to think of it."

"Yeah, I've stood in front of doors long enough as it is, I'd have Elsa *actually* hang you if you did that to me." Anna chuckles at her baseless threat, "but I know that you'll have a special, third type of goodbye."

Bryn and Anna come to a stop at the gate, the young princess signaling the guards to get ready to open them up, Bryn giving each a simple nod as they run up the steps.

"Maybe, if the girl is special enough," Bryn smirks. Time to decide, door slam, or...

Anna launches herself into Bryn, wrapping her arms around him as he fully receives her into his arms. Anna pulls back from the hug, and grabs a basket from a servant standing next to the wall. She had been concealing it their entire walk over.

She sticks the basket out for Bryn to grab. "I uhh... Made you sandwiches for the road."

Bryn grabs the basket from her hands, a huge smile appearing on his face. "You made sandwiches? Yourself?" She nods, a wary look on her face. "Anna... That's adorable."

"I just thought you guys would get hungry... I uh," she bites her lower lip as she eyes the left side of the basket, "also threw some chocolates in there."

Before Bryn can reply, his brother intrudes on the two. "Bryn, uh... I hate to say it, but don't take to long…" he looks at his younger brother as disappointment fills his face, "ah fuck it, take your time. I'll be waiting right outside the gates."

Bryn looks to his brother, Ares' eyes red, apparent that he had been crying, and was still struggling to hold back tears. "Ares, you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Ares notices the basket in Bryn's hands "What's that?"

"Oh! Anna made us sandwiches for the road-"

Ares cuts Bryn off, looking at Anna, "You made us sandwiches? That's-"

Bryn, cutting his brother off in return, "Adorable right?"

"Yeah. Well, I'll leave you two to say your goodbyes."

Before he can leave Anna wraps her arms around Ares, hugging him tightly, "Take care of your brother for me okay? Don't let him do anything stupid."

Ares hugs the young princess back, "Stop Bryn from doing something stupid? That's impossible, but take care of him, that's something I can do."

"I know you'll bring him back."

Ares gives a simple smile to the princess, and walks off.

Bryn runs his fingers through his hair, trying his best not to be awkward.

"So what were we talking about? Sandwiches right?"

"Actually, I believe you called me adorable?"

"Well it's tru-"

Anna quickly meets Bryn's lips with her own. He runs his hands down along her slim figure, setting down the basket for just a few minutes, or as many as Kai would allow, ominously standing over the two of them.

Anna picks the basket back up as she slowly pulls away, "Don't be gone for too long, okay?"

"I'll be back soon," he says, a genuine look in his eyes as he takes it into his arms.

He gives her one final kiss and makes his way towards the gates.

Anna is left standing in the courtyard, letting off a satisfied grin as she sighs happily. She looks up at Kai staring down at her with a slight look of disapproval.

Anna shrugs and tilts her head to the side, still smiling, "What?"

Bryn soon catches up to his brother, who stands directly in the center of the bridge, talking to a guard.

"These gates are to stay closed while were gone, and nothing is to happen to the queen, you understand me?"

The guard gives Ares a nod as he makes his reply. "Yes sir, we'll have guards patrolling 24 hours a day."

Bryn brushes past the guard, giving him a nod as his brother turns on his heels.

"You ready to go?"

Bryn turns to Ares as they walk, "We should hurry, they're probably already waiting for us."

**A/N: Hi guys, so, this pretty much concludes ACT 1 of the story. There will be...3 or 4. We have yet to decide the specifics for down the road. But, we'd love to hear your feedback, it really helps to see what others think of it. So just click on that little review button down there, it's just begging for it. Thank you for all of the follows/favorites, we really appreciate it! Longest chapter yet! Thanks guys and gals! -/u/CleansedBubbles and /u/Duckbutt11**


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